South Coast Swing – Lindyhop

Information on Swing Music and Lindyhop

The classic, original dance style for swing music is Lindyhop, a fusion of jazz and Charlston that originates from the late twenties and thirties. Lindyhop is a clash of culture mixing the partner dance heritage of Northern Europe with the earthy, individual but community based styles of Africa. The partner connection is thought to be of paramount importance and after learning the basics, individual styling and moves are to be encouraged. Dancers do not converge on a common ideal. Authentic Savoy Style Lindy is about exploration of the connection between partners and the music; there is no real right or wrong! Very liberating!

Lindyhop reduced in popularity after WW II as the pop music of the day switched to rhythm and blues, and thereafter rock and roll etc.

There has been a renaissance in interest in Swing music; although maybe not as large as some have hoped for. Some pop artists e.g. Robbie Williams, Westlife have produced successful Swing albums and there are now more mainstream popular Jazz artists than for many years e.g. Jamie Cullum, Michael Buble, etc and consequently there is a desire for being able to dance appropriately to the swing music elements of these artists. There are a huge number of great modern Swing bands and producing wonderful music playing to a ‘hidden’ scene that one-day we hope will become mainstream once more.

Watch out for one-off Workshops and guest teachers.

Please feel free to contact us either by e-mail or call us on 07900 99 35 35